Salaliitto & Sonik

salaliitto

It’s the day of Finnish music here in Finland, so it’s a good time to post a couple of new Finnish pop treasures. I do that way too rarely. Salaliitto’s long-waited debut full-length is due to be released by Plastic Passion on 18th of December. This album is also the reason why I haven’t even started to sketch my Finnish albums of the year list. I have to hear this one first, because I’m 100% sure it will be on my top 10. Quite frankly I wouldn’t even be surprised, if it took the first place on that list. Here’s the latest outtake Uuteen elämään from the forthcoming album.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl-Daj-TGmU]

Salaliitto at Facebook

sonik

A long time favourite songwriter / singer / human being, Ville Härkönen has a new band called Sonik and their debut album Ääriviivat dropped into the stores and my heart a couple of months ago. The songwriting duo Heikki Marttila and Ville Härkönen have created an album full of of heartwarming Finnish pop songs and it’s been absolute pleasure to listen to this album. This is Ääriviivat suuren tarinaan from the new album.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S45znJee7jU]

Sonik at Facebook

Continue Reading

Brent Best & At The Helm Records

brentbest

UK label At The Helm Records struck a deal with Last Chance Records and they will be releasing part of the current and future Last Chance catalog over in UK/Europe. That sounds mighty good to me, because Last Chance have released or are releasing albums from some of my favourite artists like John Moreland, Glossary, Austin Lucas, American Aquarium, Two Cow Garage. Unfortunately the Euro distribution of those releases has been rather awful in the past, but hopefully that’s about to change now.

Their first collaboration is Your Dog, Champ, the much debated solo album by Slobberbone’s Brent Best (next year there will be a brand new and most likely brilliant Austin Lucas album and the first Euro releases of old John Moreland albums, his In The Throes is one of the best albums released during the past five years). Anyway, Your Dog, Champ came out earlier in the fall on Last Chance and it just got a UK/Euro release a few weeks ago. It’s a very good album and has some great songs like Aunt Ramona and Career Day. I’m also liking the very disturbing tale called Good Man Now way more than I’m ready to admit. This however, is Aunt Ramona.

At The Helm Records Website
Last Chance Records Website
Brent Best Website

Continue Reading

Video of the Day: Robert Forster – Let Me Imagine You

robertforster

A video of the day and a note to self. There’s a new Robert Forster album Song To Play out there that you and I need to hear. Robert Forster is best known from the legendary The Go-Betweens, but the solo work is also wonderful. I really liked Evangelist from 2008 and therefore I really need to listen to this one. I’m sure it’s going to make my world more beautiful. This is the lead single Let Me Imagine You.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ8Vy8FqnKs]

Robert Forster Website

Continue Reading

Daniel Markham & Claire Morales – Harmony In Hell

markhammorales

According to my last.fm stats (it doesn’t cover everything, but gives a fairly good idea of my taste), Pretty Bitchin’ by Daniel Markham is my all-time most listened album by a large margin. Top 3 is 1. Daniel Markham – Pretty Bitchin’ 1219 plays and 2. Frontier Ruckus – Eternity of Dimming 740 plays. So it’s not a wrong assumption to say that I love this guy and that record especially. Pretty Bitchin’ gives me energy, if all this sad bastard stuff i continuously listen to tries to drag me too far down.

Let’s move forward to Halloween 2015. Of course I should have posted this then, but well life and/or laziness came in the way. Anyway, earlier in the fall Daniel Markham teamed up with another great singer-songwriter Claire Morales and together they wrote and released a new halloween-y album Harmony In Hell. It came out on Halloween, but it works just as well during these dark winter nights. This wonderful opener Velvet is my favourite song of the album. Those beautiful male-female harmonies send a shiver down my spine.

Daniel Markham at Facebook
Claire Morales at Facebook

Continue Reading